Copper-based electrical interconnects are currently used to electrically transmit data for a wide variety of applications, systems and devices. Copper electrical interconnects are low cost and well-accepted over a range of industries, including the automotive and transportation industries. However, there is an increasing demand for the transmission of video and other high-bandwidth data for a variety of applications, including automotive and transportation applications. The use of the video data ranges from entertainment to safety systems, such as collision avoidance detectors and secondary cameras that give a driver or a machine operator important visual information.
The need to transmit video data is challenging due to the limited data carrying capacity of existing copper networks. Copper or all-electronic data transmission systems become bulky and heavy when designed to carry the wide-bandwidth signals needed to achieve high data rate transmission. In addition, latency is critical in safety systems, meaning that most forms of data compression technology cannot be used to achieve the high-data-rate transmission.
Optical-fiber-based transmission systems and interconnects are widely used in applications requiring high data rates, but have not been widely adopted in certain applications, such as automotive and transportation applications, because of handling difficulty and cost. In addition, there are reliability concerns with respect to the light sources (e.g., VCSELs) and the opto-mechanical components. Reliability considerations are especially important in safety systems, and the challenge is compounded in harsh operating environments.